Record changer



A. COMPARE RECORD CHANGER June 13, 1950 Filed Dec. 27, 1946 INVENTOR. ALDO COMPARE 4 L1 %%M A TTORIVE Y Patented June 13, 1950 RECORD CHANGER Aldo Compare, London, England, assignor to Garrard Engineering & Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Swindon, England, a British company Application December 27, 1946, Serial No. 718,704 In Italy March 18, 1942 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires March 18, 1962 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for automatically placing talking-machine records of different diameters on the turn-table in place of a record that has just been played.

The device is primarily characterised by the feature that the stack formed by the superposed records that are to be played in succession is held together as a whole by a rod or column, which is provided with an eccentric tooth, which is co-axial with the driving shaft. This column is not set in rotation by the shaft itself, but can be turned through an angle of 180 degrees by a cam which is separately driven by the gramophone motor.

When the rod is located in its starting position, the eccentric tooth is located, while the record is falling on to the disc or turn-table and is being set in rotation, in such a position that the under record of the stack remains supported upon the rod or column; whereas if this small tooth on the supporting rod, after the playing of the record that has just been used, assumes a diametrically opposite position, and the under record moves from the rod through its hole into a co-axial position in relation to the rod itself, it can accordingly slip down along the latter and assume its position of use. Meanwhile it meets an inclined plane or curve, which, at the end of a lever, serves to adjust the initial position of the tone-arm.

In this way the result is obtained, by a mechanism of the utmost simplicity, that the records slip down along the supporting rod in order, the initial position of the tone arm being automatically regulated to correspond to the diameter of the record, in so far as records of different diameters have to be exchanged.

. The invention furthermore relates to the details and appliances that effect the raising and moving of the tone arm in agreement with and in sequence with the other movements mentioned.

The invention will be readily understood from the following detailed description of one form of construction given merely by way of examplev which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view of the apparatus as a whole, which serves for automatically placing the record upon the turn-table or motor disc and for moving the tone arm; and

Figures 2 and 3 are two outline plan views, which show diagrammatically the corresponding positions of the upper pivot and of the small lower shaft which effects the displacement and the convenient slipping down of the lowest record as soon as the latter is to be played.

With special reference to the figures of the drawing, I is a supporting rod, which serves as a pivot for a tubular shaft 3, which, by means of a pinion 2, is driven by an electric motor, not shown. Ia is a small tooth provided at the upper end of the rod I; 5 is a pivot which is eccentric in relation to the rod I, and which is provided at its lower end with a small tooth 5a. 5, '6 are the superposed records, which form a stack, and are kept concentric with one another by the pivot 5. The lowest of them is held by the projection on the rod I, when the latter is located with its tooth in the corresponding position shown in Figure 2. A cam disc I, which is rotated by a pair of gear wheels 8, 9 actuated by a small shaft IE1, is so coupled to the hollow shaft 3 that the cam disc executes a single rotational movement and is then disconnected when the record to be played has dropped on to the turn-table, the sound box has been placed on the first groove of the record and the record begins to revolve for the purpose of being played. II is a return spring; I2 is a small roller which revolves on a pivot I3 on the cam disc I; I4 is a connecting rod, which is pivoted at I5 to the end of an arm I6, which is keyed to the lower end of the vertical rod I. I1 is a rod which is pivoted at its end IIa at a fixed point of the framework, not shown. These members I2, I4 and H are so mounted that while the rotation of the cam disc I is continuing, the roller I2, at a given time or at a definite position, strikes against the joint I'Ib connecting the members I4 and I1, whereby a swinging of the arm I 6 through degrees is efiected, in such a way that the small tooth Ia of the shaft 3 turns through 180 degrees, a displacement of the lowest record 6 of the stack being effected, and this lowest record being so moved that the central hole I8 therein registers co-axially in relation to the supporting rod I, whereby the record slips down along the latter, and finally is deposited upon the turntable I9.

A description will now be given of the device that brings the abovementioned movements of the record that is about to be played into harmony with the requisite movements of the tonearm 20, which carries the sound box, with the needle 2|.

A double-armed lever 22, 23, is rockably mounted on the end of an arm 29 by a pivot 24, which is secured to the cam disc I. 26 and 21 are the two arms of a lever pivotally mounted at 28 on the lower part of a supporting plate 29. 3D is a further lever, which is pivotally mounted at 3! on a strut which carries an upper arm 32. The upper end 3la of the lever arm 30 forms :an impact edge for records of the larger diameter.

Now if one of the records 6, for instance the record 6a, is supported upon the rod l, and the latter is rotated in such a way that its small tooth la is located in the position shown in, Figures 1 and 2, the arm 31a is displaced to the right. The arm 3!] will then move'to. the left, and by means of a finger 35a thereon introduced.

into a hole 26a in the lever arm 26 will displace the lever arm 21 to the right, and? a little pin 33 on the arm 21 will cause the lever arm- 22to swing to the right, and will consequently cause. the lever arm 23 to swing to the left, that isto,

say, towards the centre of the cam I, which, by means of a book 34, engages in a hook- 35 of an arm 36, and by the aid of springs '38 and 394s pushed progressively in the direction of release. This hooking engagement is; effected by the slipping down of: the record- 6a. In; this way therefore the tone arm 20 isdisplaced for-the purpose of beginning the reproduction, which is effected by means of the following members and of the following movements: An arm 49, which is keyed to a shaft 4!, which carriesthe tone arm 26 pivotally mounted thereon effects, by means of a displacement of-thearm 40 brought about by the caln'l, a rotationof theshaftAI, and: sets the needle of the sound-boxwertically upon; the, outermost groove of-the record 6a to be played. 43and 4:2; aretwo pinscarried by the, arm- G3, which is positively connected with the tone arm 28,. the arm 23, being capable of being inserted between them. Imthiscase the swinging of the lever itself, brought about by the pin it, occasions a: slight oscillation of the arm ill, wherebyinthis case'the needle is similarly deposited vertically upon the outermost groove of a small record ib. It is clear that all the parts of the machine can besuitably regulated to meet the requirements. At every revo1ution of the carn .l the two hooks 34 and =36, engage in one another, but notbefore the next record has slipped down.

I will now describe the devices and the series of movements that effect the lowering of the tone arm. The devices-include a finger 25, which projects out of the part of asmallblock or cam 36. that is carried. by the end of the rotatable shaft 56.

The finger 25 is. an LrShaped finger which slides in the interior of the hollowzshaftlll in such. a way that the rotation of the shaft l0 effects adisplacement of-the cam 36,: which raises lowers the tone-arm 23 by means of a bracket or cantilever G2.

I claim:

1. A record changing mechanism for an automatic phonograph having aturntable .for receiv mat in playing position, a record from a stack of records, including a downwardly extending. centering pin for threading at their centers agroup of records forming a stack, an upwardly extending spindle offset from said pin for disposing the record discharged from the stack when axially aligned therewith in playing position. on the turntable, said spindle having a flat upper surface for supporting, at a zone adjacent their centers, the stack of records threaded on said centering pin, and an upstanding projection leading' from said flat surface and of height equal to the thickness oi a record, said projection being eccentrically disposed with respect to the axis offlsaid spindle, and means for periodically angularly displacing said spindle up to whereby to'dispose the lowermost record of the stack,=with its center in alignment therewith, for movement by gravity therealong onto the turntable.

2. A record changing mechanism for an automatic phonograph having a turntable for receiving a record in playing position, including a downwardly extending centering pin for threading, at th central apertures thereof. a group; of records; defining a stack, an upwardly extending spindle offset from said pin, the uppermost surface of which supports records .of the stackj'in a Zone-adjacent thecenter hole thereof, anupwardlyextending. projection, of small cross-section disposed eccentrically of the axis of said spindle, a downwardly extending tooth mounted eccentrically ofsaid centering pin, said spindle serving to support all of: the-records in; the stack centered by said pin whenthe respectiveteeth of the rod and pin areinadjacency and means for periodically angularly displacing said-spindle and the --tooth thereon whereby said toothlaterally displaces the lowermost recordofsaid. stack from alignment, withzthe remainder of therecords in the stack-to a position where its. center holeis'inalignment withthe spindle, thereby to drop along said rod by gravity to said-.- turntable, the height. of therespective teeth on-said rod and centering-pin beingequal to the thick.- ness of a record.

3; Means for automatically changingthe records: of talking -machines as claimed: inclaim 2, characterisedby the-feature that the-spindle; which carries thesmall eccentric tooth, is coaxially-mounted in relation to the hollow shaft of an electric motor driving the talking machine, and carries an arm which is operated by a cam disc'andv whichenables it to be rotatedthrough 180 degrees relatively to the starting position as soon as. one:record that has beenslippedon to the turn-table has beenplayed 1 through.

ALDOCOMPARE;

REFERENCES. CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file'of thisxpatentz UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name, Date 1,970,691 Collison et al.. .Aug. 21, 1934 2,235,693 Wells Mar. 18, 1941 2,237,340 Downs Apr. 8, 1941 

